Plum Duffer

I seem to collect plum sauces, the way some people collect, you know, um, shoes. Or Tupperware. Something useful and utterly necessary at any rate. It puzzles me though, the sheer volume of the stuff I attract. After all, it's not the most common or popular of sauces and yet I seem to find it everywhere. And I mean everywhere. You see that Alice Langton Spice Chilli Plum Brandy Sauce at the front? I bought that when we drove up to Mount Macedon to look at some lovely autumn gardens which had opened for the weekend. Gardens. Lots of deciduous trees and ornamental topiary, but not exactly prime plum sauce material. I'd only stuck a twenty in my pocket for incidentals.

But after a long walk through a 20 acre private garden, I spied a patchwork shop by the side of the road. They had some beautiful quilts, lovely fabrics, and a very small selection of commestibles. Which included said sauce. Yes, I go for a walk in the country and come back with plum sauce!

The others were purchased at more likely locations - farmers' markets and fancy stores. I've rhapsodized about the Cunliffe Waters Spicy Blood Plum Sauce before but the Flambe Yum Plum is my favourite at the moment - a very simple concoction that reflects just plum - not soy or onion or anything else. I love it on chicken wings or dolloped on ice cream - just about anything really.

And for dinner last night I needed a quick throw-together-type meal. Half a jar of Cunliffe Waters Plum Sauce. One tin of organic tomatoes. An onion, sliced. Tip in a kilo of prime lamb chump chops and bake for 1 1/2 hours in a slowish oven. The meat was falling off the bone. The sauce was rich and savoury. And very plummy. Yum.

Reminder: Please email your entries for Cooking for Children 2: Birthday Party Food to favouriteplum(at)yahoo.com.au by 29 May 2006.